I opted for sleep last night, so welcome to my not-quite-liveblog of the Oscars as I watch my recording. I've been very good about not looking at my phone or listening to the radio or going anywhere that could spoil me, so I'm watching as though it's being shown for the very first time:

For the past five months I often found myself thinking "I should post about this on Livejournal" but then I never got round to it and it got to the point where I felt like I couldn't just come back and start posting without talking about how long I'd been away so I just never came back. So now I'm making myself come back cos I want to be able to just pop on here and post about whatever, especially now that I find myself drifting away from Tumblr more and more.

The Oscars are tonight and I'm pretty sure I'm going to record the ceremony and watch it tomorrow. Part of me wants to stay up and liveblog cos I have fond memories of doing that in the past, but I fear I am getting to the age where staying up until 5am just isn't an option. I am slightly tempted to try and not-quite-liveblog it as I watch tomorrow (cos let's face it, no one is going to be reading my posts as they go up and it's really just for my own amusement that I do them) but I'm not sure I can resist the temptation to just have a quick look at other online things and thereby risk spoiling myself about who wins.

Emma has now joined our predictions game, so there's three of us competing this year. But we have pared the categories back to just the main ones. That's probably sensible cos in the past a lot of the awards have been complete guesses cos I have no idea about them (I did look up the difference between sound mixing and sound editing once, but I still don't really understand it and even if I did I still have no idea which film should win!)

As usual I have seen very few of the films nominated this year. And by "few" I mean "two": Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (nominated for production design and costume design) and Hidden Figures (nominated for actual, proper awards!) It's incredibly unusual for me to have seen a Best Picture-nominated film before the ceremony so I'm quite proud of this feat! And while Hidden Figures was a fantastic film, I still think La La Land will win.

And a quick channel change for the main event. We're still in the studio at the moment with Kate Muir and Katie Brand joining Boyd Hilton to talk about what they think is going to get Best Picture. They're going for Boyhood. I hope not, I've gone with Birdman.

Hey, so I know it's been well over a year since I've actually posted anything here but it's Oscar night and I need to keep myself awake and I have fond memories of liveblogging this event in the past so I thought I would give it another go. Tumblr doesn't really lend itself to the liveblog as well as LJ does.

So far I've seen some people discussing the nominated films and the general consensus seems to be that Selma should have got more nominations, American Sniper is absolutely terrible in every single way, and Boyhood and Birdman are pretentious, overrated and boring. So one of the latter two is definitely going to win then!

As usual Paul and I have made our predictions and this year we have £10 on the line. Well, £10 of something next time I'm in London. If I win I'm going for a cocktail, obviously. I don't know what Paul's thinking of going for, but hopefully I won't find out because I'M GOING TO WIN THIS THING! (maybe)

Also, Mickey from Doctor Who is in the UK studio. It's weird. I keep expecting him to pull out a giant gun and shoot some aliens.

So we didn't lose to a machine, which is good. We don't have to hide our heads in shame. I'm still annoyed at not winning after my awesome start, though. I'm also trying to remember why we decided Visual Effects should be worth three points when all the other middle awards (Sound, Editing, Cinematography, etc) were two. Yes, there is an ulterior motive at play here because if Visual Effects had been worth two as well then Paul and I would have tied.

But enough of my bitterness and onto the most exciting part of this post: The Dress Report!

And now we have Nicole Kidman introducing the final three Best Picture nominees. I've not seen any of these either, but I really do want to see Silver Linings Playbook.

Daniel Radcliffe and Kristen Stewart have just come out. I think Kristen is either drunk or stoned. Possibly both.

Production Design: Lincoln. No points for anyone here.

Hey George Clooney. I know someone on Tumblr who'll be going crazy right about now. Oh, he's doing the In Memoriam section. Time to be sad.

Huh. I was expecting more.

Yay, Chicago cast! It's been ten years since that won? Seriously? Actually yeah, that sounds right. I would have been at uni. I feel old.

Original Score: Life of Pi. Well done, Paul.

Original Song: Skyfall. Excellent speech, Adele! And points all round, including for the Random Number Generator this time.

Dustin Hoffman and Charlize Theron are here to present some writing awards. I wish they'd be a bit quicker about it, I'm really flagging here.

Adapted Screenplay: Argo. No points for us.

Original Screenplay: Django Unchained. Paul is rapidly catching up with me.

Everyone in the studio thinks Ang Lee is going to win best director.

Best Director: Ang Lee, Life of Pi. Congratulations studio.

You keep making jokes about this show being long but you don't do anything about it Seth MacFarlane why do you taunt me in this way I just want to go to bed oh god I need sleep but I've made it this far and I'm going to see it through to the end dammit despite what it's doing to my sanity and my use of punctuation.

They're going through the Best Actor nominees and Hugh Jackman just waved at the camera and I love him so much.

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis. I love how Meryl Streep read that. Not even the slightest pause, just "and the Oscar goes to Daniel Day-Lewis."

Oh just get on with it and present the award. Oh, Michelle Obama is going to present it is she? No, she's introducing it. Oh god, this is going to take forever. And now she's presenting it.

Best Picture: Argo.

Does this mean I can sleep now? Oh thank god. I shall be back tomorrow, or later today rather, to add up the scores but at first glance I think Paul has won by one point, which pisses me off so much after I started so well!

Costume Design: Anna Karenina. And I'm back on form. Along with the Random Number Generator.

Makeup and Hairstyling: Les Miserables. I want this film to win everything cos I love hearing the music play. Also more points for me in the predictions game!

I'm going to slap you Seth MacFarlane.

And now we're celebrating 50 years of James Bond. I actually watched Skyfall for the first time yesterday. Shirley Bassey is singing Goldfinger and all I can hear in my head is Homer Simpson singing Max Power.

Jamie Foxx's bowtie is glittery. I love it.

Short Film: Curfew. A point for Paul.

Documentary Short: Innocente. Another point for Paul.

More Best Picture introductions. I've not seen any of these three.

Documentary Film: Searching for Sugar Man. You're really good at these categories, Paul!

And now John Travolta's here. Are we going to have another musical number? Yes. Yes we are. Actually no, it's not 'a' musical number. It's a celebration of musicals! Catherine Zeta-Jones doing All That Jazz from Chicago. Jennifer Hudson doing And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going from Dreamgirls. Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Aaron Tevit, Russel Crowe, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen doing a medley of songs from Les Miserables. This is so perfect I could cry.

Back in the studio Boyd says this is a really good evening if you like musicals. I love musicals. And they all agree that Anne Hathaway is going to walk away with the Oscar. "Let's all go watch Anne Hathaway win an award." Lol, best segue ever.

But first we have...

Sound Mixing: Les Miserables. Point to me.

Sound Editing: Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall. I don't think I've ever seen a tie before. And I'm amused that even with two winners, Paul and I still both didn't get any points. The Random Number Generator got one though.

Lol, Sound of Music reference. Brilliant.

Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway. She just hugged Hugh Jackman and he looks so happy for her I think my heart exploded!

Points all round there, except for the Random Number Generator who foolishly went for Sally Field in that category. Tut.

Aaaaand here we go. Seth MacFarlane seems an odd choice but we shall see. Is he going to do a musical number?

Ok, good joke about Argo there. Poor Ben Affleck.

Is that guy wearing a banana pin?

Hey, Captain Kirk. Of course. This makes perfect sense. And yes, Seth is going to do a musical number. About boobs. I'm not quite sure what I'm watching here.

Another musical number already? Neat. I do love how this has become a thing with the Oscars now.

And now I don't need to see Flight. The real thing couldn't possibly be as good as the sockpuppet version.

More singing and dancing. When Daniel Radcliffe said he would be performing later this is not what I expected.

I'm actually really liking this whole Captain Kirk skit.

And now they're all singing an Oscar version of Be Our Guest. I... I think I love it.

Ok, well done Seth MacFarlane. You have won me over.

And now we're on to the actual awards. Best Supporting Actor is first. And the winner is... Christoph Waltz. This is good for me since I am now one up on both Paul and the Random Number Generator. Hopefully I can continue this success!

Oh my god, Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy just get on with it. You're not funny and this is painful. It's Best Animated Short. Paperman won and I am continuing with my success.

And straight on to Best Animated Film. It went to Brave. I'm actually shocked even though I predicted it!

Can we stop the Oscars now? I like this 100% success rate I'm currently on!

They're now introducing some of the Best Picture nominees. Les Mis is first and oh I love it so much.

Back to the awards now:

Cinematography: Life of Pi. That's 4/4 for me. This is going to hurt so much more when I get one wrong!

Visual Effects: Life of Pi. Ah well, my winning streak couldn't last forever. Congratulations to both Paul and the Random Number Generator for their first points!

So we have Alex Zane as the host of our bit again. And with him we have the reviews editor of Heat magazine Boyd Hilton, fashionista Antonia O'Brien, and actor Colin Salmon. And Lucy Cotter on the red carpet as usual. I wonder if she'll actually talk to anyone this year.

The men do not like Les Miserables. What.

Oh hey, Kristin Chenoweth. Does this mean that once again Lucy Cotter isn't actually talking to anyone on the red carpet? Yes, I think that's exactly what it means.

Jessica Chastain is looking rather pretty.

Amanda Seyfried is also looking very pretty, although she's apparently on the verge of losing her internal organs. Good to know.

Jennifer Lawrence is a giant. A gorgeous giant. Although I'm not a huge fan of that style of dress.

Zoe Saldana is looking lovely. I'm not sure about her dress either though.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is very shiny.

Hey, Daniel Radcliffe.

That's a very metallic dress Naomi Watts.

Nicole Kidman is a stick. I think I want to hate that dress but it actually works on her. Weird.

It's that time of year again. Time for dresses and champagne and films I haven't actually seen. Yes, it's Oscar Night!

Originally I hadn't been planning on staying up for it; now that I'm an old lady I need my sleep before work. But then on Friday I was asked to switch shifts tomorrow and now I don't have to be in until 12, so I figured this is a sign and I should take advantage of it.

Paul and I have made our predictions as usual. We also used a random number generator to make a third set and if it beats us I think we might die of shame.

Ok, it's time. I am already tired, which isn't a good sign. And the cat keeps trying to jump on my laptop. I'm not sure if he wants to write his own posts or just stop me from saying anything. Either way he's not happy with me for shifting him off.

Hey, Tonks from the Harry Potter films is on the discussion panel. Cool.

Lucy Cotter is on the red carpet. Hopefully she'll have better luck this year since I seem to remember that last time she was in such a bad position that we had to cut to an American feed in order to actually see anything. Judging by how few people are around her I'm not hopeful.

Hmm, I don't think I'm going to last. I'm thinking about recording it and watching it tomorrow when I get in from work. It's not quite the same, which will be a shame, but I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy it tonight and what's the point of forcing myself to watch something I'm not going to enjoy?

Of course if I find out who's won it won't be as fun either, but I can try to avoid that.It'll be like that episode of How I Met Your Mother where they record the Superbowl and try to make it through the day without finding out who won. (I'm not hopeful about my chances for that either. Especially not with the big awards.) QQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

And those 'Q's are from McGee, who is once again trying to climb on my laptop. I think he's judging me.

It's that time of year again - Oscar time! Paul and I have made our predictions but we're not doing our usual thing of staying up and watching the ceremony together this year.

I'm hoping to watch some but I still have work tomorrow so I can't stay up too late. And the ceremony itself doesn't start until 1:30am so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to stay awake for. Hopefully I'll be able to see some of the red carpet though.

So be warned, I may or may not be spamming your friends pages with Oscar liveblogging tonight. We'll see.